The original Lauren 2.0 spot's been pulled off YouTube, and in the re-cut version, the reference to the MacBook Pro costing two grand has been dropped (since "MacBook Pro," whatever that means now, starts at $1200). Not that it actually changes the intent of ad one bit, since Lauren 2.0 still manages to get in there, "It seems like you're paying a lot for the brand."

Which is all it needs to say, really, since that's what most people already think because of Apple's own success at positioning itself as a premium brand, even as they cut prices on basically everything they make.

Success is a bitch that way sometimes. [YouTube via AdAge via MacRumors]

Much like Lauren before them, the couple chose an HP dv7. However, this couple seems to be the least tech savvy of all the participants in the laptop hunter ads as their decision did not seem to be based on specifications at all. Rather price, screen size and the inclusion of Windows Photo Gallery was the focus here. In doing so, Microsoft touts their PCs as the laptop for families on a budget.

Of course, they rip on Macs for being "too small" and too expensive and with a $700 budget they weren't in danger of getting a Mac in the first place. [CrunchGear]

I'm sure Mac fansites will point out the MacBook Pro she sneers at for being $2000 is two inches bigger than the 13-inch Dell Studio XPS she winds up with, and she should've looked at the regular MacBook, which starts at $999, close to what she pays for the Dell. But we all know that's not the point. It's a flame war, people—just one with a budget.

I liked the old Lauren better. [YouTube]

Why? Because it ultimately cheapens what it's promoting as a consequence. Zune 3.0 is fantastic in its own right—better than iTunes in many ways for music lovers—and Zunepass's 10 free songs a month is a legitimately brilliant stroke. This throws away everything that's great about Zune for some stupid price argument that's going to sway precisely nobody, since everybody downloads music illegally anyway.

How about just telling people what's great about Zune? That's what Apple does, and it seems to be working pretty well. (To clarify, I'm talking about the iPhone commercials.) [YouTube via Ars via Engadget]

Not to repeat everything on the ad, but the kid picks a Sony Vaio because it has Blu-ray and because Macs are "a little small", even though his mom says "they are pretty" before making the most disgusting face ever caught on video.

The mom seems to be happy to be getting a couple hundred bucks in cash, and the kid seems to be happy because hey, free computer. But in the end, does it really matter which OS you choose? Does it? You give me a $1500 blank check and I'll pick a $200 Eee and buy $1300 worth of ice cream. That's right, I haven't had ice cream in a while. [Thanks Ravi!]

That's right, it's a not-Mac! I mean, it's an HP! It's hard to keep track, since the only complaint the commercial brings up is that Giampaolo (henceforth referred to as "John") wants to pay for the components, and not the brand. And that's a fairly reasonable point of view, according to our study of the infamous "Apple Tax." It's true, John simply cannot buy a new MacBook with, say, 4GB of memory for under $1,500. But as any Apple fanboy knows, with Apple, your premium pays for the software, and for Microsoft (primarily a software company!) to take the position that software has no impact on value is an odd choice.

Listen up, Microsoft. I'm typing this on an HP laptop running Windows 7, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I like Windows, and not just because I'm too cheap or not cool enough to own a Mac (both are true, but neither is relevant). So how about you find something to campaign on that doesn't double as an insult, like "PCs are cheap," eh? [YouTube]

In this, the most directly anti-Apple ad of Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' campaign, Microsoft sets up an experiment: a focus group of prospective computer shoppers is given a set amount of money—in this case $999—to buy a computer. Any remaining cash the members have they can keep.

Predictably, our perky protagonist, desiring a 17-inch screen, went with a $700 PC from Best Buy. And why not? The 'equivalent' (read: 17-inch) Apple product could have cost her twice as much, and $999 would have left her stuck with a last-gen product anyway. Likewise, if she had listed in her requirements 4GB of RAM, a Blu-ray drive, a built-in card reader, or anything at all that doesn't come stock in a 13-inch white MacBook, she would have had to buy a PC.

Microsoft told the WSJ that not a single focus group member chose a Mac, but even the most devout Apple fanboy could have predicted this outcome; the arbitrary terms of the ad had Apple competing in a market they don't even have a product for. The 'experiment', as it were, doesn't actually prove anything, nor does it need to; this, like any good ad campaign, is about crafting an image for you or your competitors—something it manages deftly in a time when money is on everyone's mind. [BoingBoing Gadgets]